The Official F4 Handbook
by cherryfloss
Summary: Have you ever wanted to know about the F4's unspoken, once unwritten rules? Yes, there is a method to this madness. Full summary inside!
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I own nothing, otherwise our favorite SoEul couple would have had a proper ending complete with babies, and this handbook would be part of the merchandise ;)

Full summary: Have you ever wanted to know about the F4's official rules? Like why Woo Bin abuses English ebonics? Or why the red card is red and not yellow or pink? Or why Jun Pyo insists on wearing those ridiculous fur coats of his?

Due to some undercover sneaking by our favorite weed, you're about to find out.

Korean words used in this chapter:  
anae - wife  
chal jinaessoyo - I'm fine, thanks

* * *

"No. There is no way in hell we are going." Jan Di folded her arms across her chest and glared at her husband-as-of-yesterday. Even though they were across the room from each other—him sprawled out on the king sized bed, her standing in the doorway of the master suite bathroom—she could see that arrogant smirk that made an appearance whenever he was about to exercise his rights as the F4 leader playing on his lips.

But the smirk disappeared in a second, only to be replaced as a pout. "But _anae_, last night was boring," he whined, rolling around on the bed. "I want to go to Catalina Island!"

Jan Di was about to retort to the latter half of the sentence before the former hit her. Boring?! "You pabo, we were up until 4 in the morning!"

"But I fell asleep!"

"Men always fall asleep after sex!"

Jun Pyo's forehead creased in confusion. "Where did you hear that?"

The new Mrs. Gu Jun Pyo wasn't going to admit she had been flipping through Jae Kyung's numerous American teenager magazines, so she decided to bring up the main subject of their argument. "Why Catalina Island? That's on the other side of the Pacific Ocean!"

"That's why." The F4 leader made a "hmph" sound before sitting up. "I want to have you all by myself. Those stupid gossip magazines know more about you than I do!"

Resisting the urge to roll her eyes, Jan Di simply turned around and stormed into the bathroom, grabbing a washcloth to wash her face. She grabbed a bar of soap and started scrubbing at her cheeks. "What is it with the F4 dragging women around like ragdolls?"

From the bedroom, she could hear Jun Pyo chuckling.

Raising her voice a few decibels louder, she grumbled, "I wish that there was SOME kind of F4 handbook that would tell me what I was in for with dealing with these people!"

Jun Pyo was standing by one of the full length mirrors in the bedroom checking his hair to make sure it was alright—they were pretty rough last night and the curls just weren't bouncy enough—when he heard Jan Di's grumbling and suddenly remembered something. Laughing, he said, "Of course there's a handbook, stupid. We wouldn't be the F4 without one."

"You and your stupid—what?" Curious, Jan Di poked her head out the doorway. She saw her husband standing by one of the mirrors, a blank expression on his usually smug face. She tiptoed over and waved a hand in front of his face. "Yah! What are you doing, Gu Jun Pyo?"

As if someone threw cold water on him, he jumped, glanced down to see his newlywed wife staring at him with an odd expression on her face, and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Ah… just remembering some stuff from way back then, Jan Di. Nothing to worry about." He all but ran to the bathroom, shut the door, and soon all Jan Di could hear was the sound of rushing water from the shower. Jan Di walked to the bed slowly and sat down. "Hmm… an F4 handbook? Jun Pyo and them don't seem too serious about F4 to make something like that."

She mused over the possibilities of an actual handbook until she heard the shower stop running. Jun Pyo came out in nothing but a towel, and as he brushed past Jan Di for his suitcase of extra clothes he said, "Hurry up and take a shower. My driver will be here shortly to pick us up and bring us back to the mansion."

"What?! I thought we were staying here for a week!" Whoever heard of a day-long honeymoon? And what about all the things Jun Pyo had bragged about planning? The management wouldn't be too happy.

"It doesn't matter. Butler Lee will take care of it." The tone of his voice was final as he started dressing himself.

Jan Di sighed, but she had no choice except to go to the bathroom to change. She may be married now, but it would be a while before she changed in the same room as Gu Jun Pyo.

*

As Jun Pyo said, the management rung up their room in less than 15 minutes informing them that their limousine had arrived, and Jun Pyo practically dragged Jan Di out of there and into the car.

The ride back was silent, and Jan Di couldn't help but feel awkward. Shouldn't they not be able to keep their hands off each other right now?

Sneaking a glance at Jun Pyo, she noted his hands were (disappointingly) resting in his lap. He was gazing out of the tinted window, and a thoughtful look was on his face. Part of Jan Di wanted to deliver a flying round kick to Jun Pyo for being so… so lacking in what was supposed to be the best honeymoon ever featured in Borbes magazine, but the other part wanted to find out what he was thinking about.

Women's intuition led her to think of the handbook.

Jan Di hid a smile as she leaned on her armrest, staring thoughtfully out the window and thinking of what possible places someone could hide a guide to the elite ways of the F4.

*

When the limousine pulled up to the Gu mansion, Jun Pyo was out of the car in less than 5 seconds, not even casting a backwards glance towards Jan Di.

"Are you okay, Mistress Gu?" One of the maids, Chun Hei, walked up to the car door to open it for Jan Di and bowed.

Jan Di couldn't help but smile as she remembered the times she had to work here as a maid. "Chal jinaessoyo," she replied, taking the maid's proffered hand and pulling herself out of the car. Turning to the mansion, she saw an Italian leather shoe disappear behind the huge, heavy door of the main entrance.

Muttering a quick thank you to Chun Hei, she dashed up the stairs and pushed past the servants waiting to open the door for her.

Jan Di could hear his steps echoing in the house, but what staircase did he go up? Picking one at random, she ran up them as quietly as she could. _This is the stupid thing about mansions_, she thought. _No practicality at all_.

The staircase she picked was the one that had only one landing with a small bench and a few potted plants on it; otherwise it led all the way up to what was now Jun Pyo's office. It was still rather long though. As Jan Di panted her way up the stairs, she caught a glimpse of Italian leather and thanked God she had picked the right one. She didn't want Jun Pyo to know she was tailing him, so she slowed down on the landing and watched as he fumbled with his keys to unlock the office, and walked inside.

Calling on her spying skills, Jan Di crept up the marble stairs to the mahogany wood door, and peeped in the little crack that allowed her to see into the room.

The curtains were still drawn so it was considerably dark in the room, but she could see Jun Pyo's form standing by his desk. There was a sound of wheels rolling on wood, the sound of a drawer opening, and… bah, she couldn't see that well from her vantage point. Jan Di could only see Jun Pyo's silhouette bending over his desk. She watched him for a few moments, then there was the sound of a drawer closing, then muted footsteps across plush carpet…

With a frightened squeak, Jan Di jumped back, glanced rapidly around for a place to hide, and finally ducked behind a large fern plant near the door. Just as she bent down, the door creaked open, and there stood Jun Pyo. He exhaled and clapped his hands together a little too loudly; Jan Di was sure that it was echoing around the house now.

"Good to see it's still there," Jun Pyo chuckled. He adjusted his jacket lapels as if composing himself for acting stern and angry at the maids who saw him briefly abandon his new wife in favor of a childhood relic, before stepping down the stairs in a decidedly jaunty fashion.

Jan Di waited until his footsteps' echoes died down a bit, before letting out a breath she didn't know she had been holding and sneaking to the door that Jun Pyo didn't lock.

The room was silent and had a decidedly foreboding air to it, Jan Di thought. Here was a place where businesses and livelihoods were broken down and crushed. She snuck stealthily to Jun Pyo's desk and blushed at the picture displaying her and Jun Pyo at their engagement party, before sitting down in the leather-backed armchair to look at the drawers. One of them was a little ajar, so Jan Di hoped that her luck hadn't run out today and pulled it open.

Resting on top of a stack of business-y looking papers was a leather bound book. Jan Di felt her heart speed up as she gingerly picked it up. There was a small gold plaque embellished on the cover, and engraved on it were the words: "The Official F4 Handbook." A skull and bones from the infamous red card was engraved beneath the title.

Jan Di reached to undo the fancy clasp holding the book together, but hesitated. If Jun Pyo was in such a rush to check for this and keep it a secret from her, maybe she shouldn't know. In fact, she should be downstairs right now with her husband, instead of sneaking around behind his back and around his personal belongings like this.

Shaking her head, Jan Di placed the book back on top of the papers and walked out the door, closing it shut behind her.

Less than two seconds later the door clicked open again, and less than five seconds later it was shut by a giggling Jan Di, the official rules of the F4 clutched to her chest as she ran towards her room.

* * *

First official rule will be in the next chapter, thanks for reading!


	2. Rule 1: F4 Flower Four

* * *

Thanks for the reviews last chapter! I'm posting this from the SoEul archive, so updates will be every day or two (:

Korean words in this chapter:  
Seunseng-nim - teacher [polite form]  
Mwurago - What did you say? (not sure about the romanji...)  
mianhe - sorry

* * *

A few minutes later, Jan Di had navigated her way around the numerous hallways and staircases to the room she had stayed in as a maid. She was surprised that she didn't hear Jun Pyo shouting for her from downstairs as she scurried through the halls, but she silently thanked God for small blessings like that.

Jan Di sat down on the bed, feeling the rich leather beneath her fingers and touching the gold plate that said "The Official F4 Handbook" on it.

Was this really a handbook that could explain away all the weird quirks and reasonings of the F4? It seemed unlikely that there was a method to their madness, but still…

Ga Eul would die if she got her hands on this book, Jan Di giggled. Her breath hitched as she undid the elaborate clasp binding the F4 secrets, and opened the book, expecting to see a nicely ordered list of assorted rules written in fancy script.

_What…?_

Inside the leather covers there was yet another book, except this one wasn't written on parchment or any fancy stationary. Scrawled on crumpled plain white paper, dirty from four boys' grubby hands, were the words "F4 Rools!" in English letters, obviously written by a five year-old Woo Bin. Below the title were little drawings and scribbles, but what stood out were what looked like four little boys with the Shinhwa blue colored over them. Jun Pyo's drawing was obviously the tallest one, with squiggles covering his head and a frown on his face. (Jun Pyo had confessed to Jan Di that he didn't know how to draw smiles when he was little.) Ji Hoo barely came up to Jun Pyo's shoulders, with two blank eyes and a scratch of black crayon for hair. Yi Jung's and Woo Bin's drawings were the same height, and obviously drawn much better than the other two, but there was a scribbled-out picture next to Woo Bin—Jan Di had the feeling that Woo Bin had bribed Yi Jung to draw his image after getting frustrated with his own.

Jan Di couldn't help it; she started chuckling, then burst out laughing.

They had been carrying this on for almost 20 years?

She was tempted to flip all the way to the back to see when the last rule had been added, but decided to turn the second cover and start from Shinhwa Kindergarten.

**------**

**Rule 1: F4 = Flower Four**  
-Ji Hoo

"Jun Pyo hyung, what does F4 stand for?" Yi Jung piped up. It had been officially one day since the F4 was established. Or three snack breaks, or two naptimes.

Well, it would be two after Seunseng-nim turned on the lights.

But there was no answer from the self-proclaimed leader of their little band; he was fast asleep. Yi Jung resisted the urge to poke him in the side to wake him up—even if it had only been a handful of weeks since school started, he and his other friends, Song Woo Bin and Yoon Ji Hoo, had already witnessed Jun Pyo's numerous and often violent temper tantrums. For all of his downsides, Yi Jung felt happy that he made friends with Gu Jun Pyo. His noona was really nice.

The precocious four year-old rolled over onto his right side—or was it left? he always got confused between those two—and stared at the back of Ji Hoo. He was a really quiet boy, and was really different from Jun Pyo, but Yi Jung guessed that was what he liked about Ji Hoo. Wordlessly, he poked him in the back, and watched as he stirred.

"Ji Hoo hyung, what does F4 stand for?"

The older boy slowly turned until he was on his back, probably staring at something on the ceiling, but not at Yi Jung. The younger boy pouted, and was just about to repeat his question when Ji Hoo suddenly said, "Flower Four. Because we're pretty."

There was a stretch of silence where Yi Jung heard Seunseng-nim drop her lipstick cap on the blue-green carpet and hastily pick it up.

Yi Jung coughed a bit. He wasn't sure if hyung was serious or not. "Mwurago?"

This time, Ji Hoo turned onto his other side, so that he was facing the youngest member of F4. "Dongsaeng, why do you want to know?"

Yi Jung opened his mouth to speak, but realized that he didn't know why he wanted to know. "Mianhe… I was just curious." He rolled onto his back and folded his hands abashedly onto his tummy.

Unseen by Yi Jung, Ji Hoo smirked before turning over and fell asleep once more.

"YOU TOLD HIM WHAT?!"

Ji Hoo was once again the quiet, stoic boy out on the playground, but inside he wanted to burst out laughing.

"IT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE THE FURIOUS FOUR, OR THE FAMOUS FOUR, OR THE FANTASTIC FOUR, OR…"

The second-in-command of F4 let Jun Pyo's yells roll off his back, thinking of the revolution he started. Word on the playground had quickly spread of the "Flower Four" group Jun Pyo had pulled together, by an enthusiastic Yi Jung.

If sabotaging Jun Pyo's plans to name their group something that suited its leader's personality helped Ji Hoo get back at that pabo for breaking his favorite robot toy, then so be it.

* * *

End Notes:

The story didn't come out /entirely/ as I planned it to, but I like the ending of it n__n I always imagined Yi Jung to be a lot more polite and eager to please as a child, in contrast to his playboy self when he grows up.

And yes, technically the F4 handbook has been in existence for around 20 years. I forgot what episode it was in (I think 13) that the F4 graduated high school and moved on to University, which means they were 18-19 years old. Macau was also in that episode, so tack 6 months onto that. Jun Pyo's birthday was sometime afterwards in episode 15 (I don't know how old he turned though :c). But anyways~ since so much time passed between that episode and before Jun Pyo leaves for America I'll just assume they're 20 at that point. Add 4 years and that's where we are now 8)

Sometimes I think I try too hard to stick to cannon ;n; But at least now you guys know!

Preview for next chapter: why Monopoly was banned from the Shinhwa kindergarten classroom due to a conniving Woo Bin.


	3. Rule 2: No more Monopoly

**Rule 2: No more Monopoly. Ever.**  
- Jun Pyo, as implied by the Board of Education

The plastic dice clattered and spun on the multicolored board, twirling around a tiny bronze shoe and car with the hopes of three little girls riding on their destination, one finally landing four side-up and the other one pirouetted on an edge before finally landing on a one.

"_Tasot!_" Mi Suk squealed, clapping her hands together. "Five!"

The little trio of girls hugged each other, giggling and ecstatic. But off to the side, leaning against an old maple tree, was Woo Bin. Funny how all it took to get a couple of girls to play a game with him was as simple as asking. Now, coercing them into pooling together their lunch money to bet against him was another story.

The 10 minute bell rang, signaling that school would be starting soon at 8:30. It would take less than 2 to win this game, Woo Bin smirked.

Mi Suk, along with Sun Ja and Jin Hee, finally settled down to pick up the little shoe and move it across the multicolored squares, finally landing on…

Namsan Tower.

"Yay, Mi Suk, that was a good roll!" cheered Sun Ja, hugging her best friend and starting another round of squeals.

Luckily Woo Bin had a good poker face, otherwise he would've burst out laughing—how could they be happy when he owned all the property on the board already?

"That'll be 300,000 won please," he said instead, holding out his fingerless-gloved hand.

Jin Hee pulled out their tiny stack of bills—nearly nonexistent compared to the pile Woo Bin had been stashing behind his back—and began counting. "_Baek-man… ee-baek-man…_" She set down the two orange bills, and brought out a roll of yellows, pinks, and whites. "Umm… _yol, sumul, sorun, mahun, shween_… plus _tasot, yol, yol-tasot_… and _hana, tul, set_." She held out the money for Woo Bin to take.

200,618 won.

"Sorry ladies, but is that all you have?" Woo Bin pretended to count the bills dubiously, even though he already knew the answer.

"Sorry oppa, that's all we have. Isn't that enough?" Jin Hee asked, counting on her fingers.

_Not even close_. "It seems like I've won."

What happened next was a cacophony of shrieks and squeals—though angry-sounding this time.

"Woo Bin-oppa, we'll get you back someday!" the three girls screamed at him before running away. Not before leaving a messy pile of won at Woo Bin's feet.

"…20,000, 23,000, 25,000 won." Woo Bin cocked his head to the side, thinking. "Around $20 in the US, I guess. Not too bad."

He looked up to see the F3 boys walking towards him from the playground. "Yah, Woo Bin-ah, where have you been?" Jun Pyo yelled from a few metres away. "School's about to start, pabo. We've been looking for you!"

Well, they didn't look like they did. Ji Hoo was staring at the leaves by his feet as if examining them for delivering a speech on the fundamental structure of dead foliage, and Yi Jung was holding a little stuffed dog. Yi Jung had sobbed to Woo Bin the day before about how someone ran over his dog, Joso (Woo Bin had his doubts; it was more likely stolen or something) and his omma, in an effort to console him, bought him a stuffed dog that didn't even resemble Joso (Woo Bin also thought this was a smart move); it was yellow gingham with a red ribbon tied around its neck and had what Woo Bin thought was a stupid expression on its face.

Jun Pyo's eyes flicked down to the colorful board that Woo Bin was folding up. "What's that?"

"Monopoly." At their confused glances Woo Bin hastily corrected, "_Dok Sik_."

Yi Jung bent over to pick up the little dog figurine. "How do you play, hyung?"

"It's a board game, so there's a lot of rules. I think it's pretty fun."

"Where did you get it?" Jun Pyo demanded, brandishing the board in the air.

Woo Bin stood up to snatch it back before Jun Pyo could hit Ji Hoo in the face with it. "From America," he said smugly, packing the board neatly in its box. "My appa got it for me while he was on a business trip."

A look of jealousy quickly crossed over Jun Pyo's face, before he said, "I want to play." He crossed his arms over his chest adamantly. "A game is only fun if I win at it."

The 5 minute bell suddenly rang, and all four boys turned to look at the lines where they were supposed to line up. Taking the figurines and dice and stashing them in a little bag, Woo Bin placed the lid back onto the box. "Okay, we'll play during recess then, araso?"

As the four of them trooped back to the line, Woo Bin couldn't help but think about raising the stakes a little. Jun Pyo would have too much pride to back down if he suggested it.

* * *

Ji Hoo played idly with his pencil as Mrs. Chu began writing a series of math problems on the board. "Today, class, we will be learning subtraction." She held up a bag. "Who wants to help pass out these bags to each table? I need two volunteers, and each one gets a gold star!"

Of course, hands shot up in the air as his classmates clamored for a chance at a gold star on the bulletin board, sans the Flower Four (who are above screaming for a chance to help out the teacher). Eventually, everyone settled down as Mrs. Chu picked the lucky two—a girl and a boy.

"Here's your bag, oppas." Hana, one of the two, shyly pushed a blue bag onto their table.

"Don't call me oppa," Jun Pyo snapped at her, before seizing the bag and dumping out the contents on the table. Hana looked like she was about to cry, but a warning glance from Jun Pyo silenced her as she ran to the next table.

Ji Hoo returned his gaze back to the colorful pile sitting on the table. Bears. They were little bears. Orange, red, yellow, white.

"I CALL RED!"

"I want yellow!"

"I'll take orange, if you're fine with white, Ji Hoo hyung?" Ji Hoo looked up from his lap to see Yi Jung offering a handful of orange bears in one hand and white in the other. He smiled as he took the white ones and arranged them in a perfectly straight line.

"Now class, count out seven bears. Then take three away. How many do you have left?"

A variety of hands shot up, but Mrs. Chu called on the boy who was leaning his chair on its back legs with his sneakers on the table. "Woo Bin, would you kindly tell the class how many bears you would have left?"

"Four. Can we move onto division or statistics now?" Woo Bin asked in a bored tone. He didn't even touch the pile of green bears that lay abandoned on the table.

Mrs. Chu blinked a few times. "Well… your father has informed me that he would like to have you placed in a fifth grade math class, but you must still take your lessons in this room. For gold stars, you can help your classmates who are having trouble—her eyes strayed to Yi Jung, who was desperately trying to count on his fingers and resist the urge to look at Jun Pyo's bears—and you may see me after class for your separate assignment."

"Smartass." Woo Bin didn't hear Jun Pyo's comment, but Ji Hoo did. He stifled a laugh and proceeded to remove three bears from his line.

* * *

As soon as the clock struck 10:00, the bell rang, announcing recess. There was a jam as all the children forced their way through the door, but the crowd melted away as Jun Pyo led the F4 through the doorway, his pompous air making it clear that no one should stand in his way.

They made their way to what was affectionately called the Shinhwa Dollhouse, a literal house made for the kindergarteners of Shinhwa. It was as big as two and a half classrooms put together, complete with second story. Almost all the appliances worked, save for the kitchen—which was stocked with a vending machine shaped like a refrigerator anyways.

And it was in the living room where the F4 sat, board already set up with stacks of money and cards in the middle. Woo Bin pulled out a handful of figurines from the little black bag and set them down in the middle.

It took only two seconds for the game to go to hell as each boy tried to grab the one they wanted.

"Why don't we settle this with eeny meeny miny mo?" Ji Hoo, for the most part had stayed out of the brawl.

"Okay then," Woo Bin grinned. "You do it."

Ji Hoo shook his head. "You do it, I don't have a mother to tell me to pick the very best one."

There was an awkward pause in the banter, until Woo Bin said, "Okay…" He pointed at Ji Hoo. "Eeny." Yi Jung. "Meeny." Jun Pyo. "Miny." Himself. "Mo."

The rhyme continued on, and Yi Jung was not picked as the very best one. Then Ji Hoo, and it was finally down between Woo Bin and Jun Pyo. Pointing to himself, Woo Bin began, "Eeny meeny miny mo, catch a tiger by the toe, if he hollers let him go, my mother said to pick the very best one and you…"

Jun Pyo bit his lip.

"…are…"

Yi Jung looked away; he knew either party would throw a fit.

"…not…"

Ji Hoo already knew who would pick their token first. The dirty cheater.

"…it."

It took Jun Pyo a while to realize that he was going second.

"WOO BIN, YOU CHEATER, I—"

"I want the car." Woo Bin picked up the figurine and hid it in his fist before Jun Pyo could leap across the table and grab it. Jun Pyo was fuming, he could tell, and Woo Bin stuck out his tongue at him while he wasn't looking.

Jun Pyo glared daggers at the boy in front of him, before finally saying, "I'll get the money bag. I don't want that stupid car anyways." Ji Hoo picked the horse rider, and Yi Jung picked up the terrier dog.

"Okay then," Woo Bin said, "let's get started."

* * *

Jun Pyo was, safe to say, pissed off.

He was the oldest, he should've gotten the car! He eyed it scornfully after Woo Bin had set it down on the table.

Pfft, it was ugly. Little thing made out of iron, looking like it was from the 1950s. He didn't want it; if he had his little bag of money that was all he needed.

"Jun Pyo?" The F4 leader blinked to see Ji Hoo waving a hand in front of his face. "Woo Bin wants to know if you want to bet."

That got his attention.

"So, Jun Pyo, I was thinking of raising the stakes a bit," Woo Bin said, cocking an eyebrow.

"What?"

Woo Bin reclined in his chair, kicking his feet up onto the table. "You know, our appas have a bit of property, and Monopoly's all about obtaining property… you dig?"

Jun Pyo's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Do you mean…?"

"Well, I understand if you don't want to bet your own property, Jun Pyo." Woo Bin sighed and looked up to the ceiling, as if asking for patience from some higher power. "You know, I never thought you were a coward—"

"I AM NOT A COWARD!" Jun Pyo yelled, slamming his fists on the table and making the pieces—Yi Jung and Ji Hoo included—jump. "You're on, you pabo. I put in Myeongdong, Namsun Tower, KTX and Korail, um… Shinhwa Gas & Electric and Waterworks, and… and Madeul Stadium!"

Woo Bin hid a smirk from the fuming Jun Pyo, trying not to laugh. The F4 leader could be manipulated so easily sometimes. He turned to the other F2. "Which ones will you guys put in?"

Yi Jung looked up at nothing in particular, trying to think of the museums his appa owned. "Um… Woo Song Museum, and Horim Museum." He liked those ones; they were huge buildings.

"Suam Art Center and Cultural Foundation." Those were the only places that Ji Hoo could think of.

"So I'll put in…" Woo Bin counted the empty spaces on the board. "Banpo Bridge, Incheon Airport, Yeouido, COEX Mall, and… Lotte World."

All F3 members turned to stare at Woo Bin, all intent on buying Lotte World. Whoever owned that would be the talk of the classroom.

To be honest, Woo Bin owned a lot more property than that—Ilsim Constructions _was_ a real estate company, after all. But that arrogant Jun Pyo kept Woo Bin from having to wager so many properties; in his haste to prove his wealth he had almost as much property than Woo Bin, Yi Jung, and Ji Hoo had wagered combined.

Woo Bin doled out the cash between them—everyone started with 1 million won—and soon the odd camaderie of tokens were lined up on the Go space. A few roll of the dice later, and Woo Bin's car had vroomed up three spaces, landing on Korail.

"I'll buy it," said Woo Bin, already handing 500,000 won to Ji Hoo who was acting as banker for the game. His eyes glinted as he turned to look at Jun Pyo. "Now I own it. 20% rent if you guys land on it."

Jun Pyo rolled his eyes as he shook the dice, not understanding the magnitude of it, and moved his moneybag up 6 spaces.

Jail.

"WHAT? WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?!" Jun Pyo shouted, standing up and almost knocking over the table.

"You don't get to move for next round." Yi Jung flipped through the instruction manual, translated into Hangul.

The F4 leader fumed as he slouched back into his chair. Ji Hoo hid a smile as he rolled, and landed on Chance. He drew an orange card that read in big bold caps, "GET OUT OF JAIL FREE".

Jun Pyo was on him in an instant. "Ji Hoo, give me that card. Now."

"No. That's cheating." Ji Hoo tucked the orange card into his sleeve.

Jun Pyo was about to open his mouth before Yi Jung interrupted, "Hyung, that's cheating. 2 against 1, we win."

This put the curly-haired boy in an even worse mood as Yi Jung picked up the dice to roll, getting a 7 and moving his little terrier—Yi Jung decided that terriers were his favorite dogs—to Banpo Bridge. "Woo Bin hyung, is it okay if I buy Banpo Bridge from you?"

"Sure, sure." Woo Bin was impatient; it was already 5 past since they had gone out for recess. Which meant 20 minutes left.

Yi Jung handed the bills carefully to Ji Hoo, exchanging a meaningful glance. Woo Bin said nothing as he rolled again. "5. SHG&E." [A/N: That's Shinhwa Gas & Electric to everyone :b]

"No. You're not buying that." Jun Pyo growled, crossing his arms over his chest.

Woo Bin sighed. "Yes I am."

"No you're not."

"Yes, I am!"

"It's MY company and I decide WHO buys it!"

"Well you wagered it so that's your fault." He stuck his tongue out at the older boy, as he handed 185,000 won(1) to Ji Hoo.

Jun Pyo snatched up the dice and all but threw them onto the board, getting a 9. He was about to move his token until—

"Hyung, you're still in jail," Yi Jung piped up.

Instead of picking up and throwing the board game like the F3 thought he would, Jun Pyo simply sat down again and muttered something along the lines of "I hate this game" and "I don't owe Woo Bin anything".

The F3 all heaved an internal sigh of relief.

The game moved on and on, with occasional outbursts from Jun Pyo ("WHAT THE HELL DO YOU MEAN I OWE STREET REPAIRS?!"), thoughtful pondering on Ji Hoo's behalf ("I suppose the hospital needs 130,000 won to keep running.") and cheers from Yi Jung when he managed to buy out Madeul Stadium ("I wanna watch football there again!"). Woo Bin was the only one who kept silent, an occasional smirk here and a frown whenever he drew something particularly bad from the Community Chest or Chance, even though his number of properties that was continually rising and the 20% rent helped. But the F3 didn't seem to notice their dwindling funds, until Yi Jung finally landed on COEX Mall and, recounting his bills in dismay, finally wailed, "I don't have anymore money!"

Woo Bin snapped out of his thoughts at Yi Jung's shout. He already ran out of money? It was only… 10:15!

On the next roll Ji Hoo was out too, and Woo Bin quickly bought them all, aside from one: Madeul Stadium.

Jun Pyo was the last adversary, and Woo Bin knew it would come to this—him going up against the leader. The previous anger and frustration had disappeared, only to be replaced with determination. And everyone knew that a determined Jun Pyo was something to watch out for.

But Woo Bin knew more than enough tricks to win.

Jun Pyo only held a few more properties on the board: Madeul Stadium and Suam Art Center. But apparently he had luck on his side, because he kept rolling fives and sixes after he landed on Go again, and ended up on Jail and Free Parking three times. If he made it to Go again to collect his salary, then…

Woo Bin sneaked a peak at the clock. 10:20. He had 5 minutes to wrap this up; Jun Pyo would demand overtime and fire any teacher who had ventured to the Dollhouse to collect them.

Apparently Lady Luck heard him, because the next roll that Jun Pyo was a 7—he had never been so happy to see that lucky number—and it landed him on the Community Chest.

Wordlessly, Jun Pyo pulled out a card. "Advance token to the nearest railroad and pay owner twice the rental to which he is otherwise entitled. If railroad is unowned, you may buy it from the bank."

"What was the rent again?" Jun Pyo yawned, but he looked at Woo Bin out of the corner of his eye.

He was on Korail, so that would be… "100,00—no, 200,000 won."

Jun Pyo pulled out his roll of bills and began counting. "195,000; 196,000; 197,000; 198,000; 199,000…" He dropped the last 1,000 note onto the pile.

There was a blank stretch of silence when both parties registered what had happened, and Jun Pyo and Woo Bin stared up from their piles to look up at each other.

"Bankrupt," said Yi Jung in disbelief.

What happened next came in quick succession. Woo Bin suddenly found himself on the floor, the table toppled over on him and cards still fluttering to the ground, and a yell: "I DON'T OWE YOU SHIT, SONG WOO BIN!" Then a door slam.

Woo Bin sat there for a while in shock as the other F2 members didn't say anything, still stunned that Jun Pyo had run out like that. He caught an orange card that had drifted in front of his nose.

"Go play at Lotte World, you own it now."

If only Jun Pyo got this card instead.

* * *

Uploading another chapter tonight, which is the other half of this one! If you could leave a review for both, that would be amazing :3

Replies:  
**quibbler149** - there will be a soeul moment in one of the upcoming chapters, and probably some more later ^^

**miniwoo** - I'd love to do ~30, but I don't know if that's possible at the moment x) I have about 7 done, and haven't written much for a while... /brick'd

Thanks to ChocolateandRoses, mdthegreat, kawaii ninja otaku, and Ice-creamy-life for reviewing as well!


	4. Rule 25: and no more Hide and Seek too

**Rule 2½: No more hide and seek with the mafia**  
- Yi Jung

Song Woo Bin was pissed.

Well, not really pissed. More like upset.

And it was all that stupid Jun Pyo's fault! He agreed to their little bet, but the liar had run out after he lost his game of Monopoly! All they bet were a handful of properties, not even more than ten, and that pabo still couldn't accept the fact that the almighty Gu Jun Pyo had lost…

_Almighty my butt_, Woo Bin snorted as he rolled over on his chair. He was in what was called the Basement—a hangout for all of the kkangpae that worked for his appa. The only light available was from the low hanging lamps that hung above the pool tables and the bar. Glowing with fluorescent bright light, they illuminated the heavy smoke that filled the room. Once upon a time, the smoke made Woo Bin cough and his eyes water, but he was used to it now. Aside from pool there were also dart boards, a 100" flat screen TV, a small bowling alley, a hall that branched out into smaller rooms for what his appa called 'the dirty business', and a small sitting area, stocked with overstuffed and ripped leather armchairs.

And that was where Woo Bin sat now, in his own personal seat—a rather clean but worn dark red leather winged-and-button backed armchair. There were only a few rips here and there, but the whole chair was rather big for Woo Bin—sitting up, he only occupied a little less than half the seat—hence he usually opted for sprawling out across it, using the armrests as pillows. The dimmed lighting and scent of tobacco was comforting to him, and he usually went to the Basement when he wanted to get away from his doting mother or take a nap.

But today he wasn't there for either; he was there because he wanted to think. Think about ways to collect on the F4's bet.

"What's shakin', man?" The familiar voice almost made him jump, but he caught himself just in time—acting startled or surprised was uncool. Woo Bin turned on his side to face Ki Soon, who was kneeling down on the floor in front of him. Ki Soon was one of the few rather young gang members, but because he was only 16 Woo Bin felt a bit more closer to him than to the other kkangpae. He was a kyopo; he had stowed away on a ship from Los Angeles, all the way in California, to get away from his parents and one of Woo Bin's appa's men had picked him up.

"Nothing." Woo Bin turned away to face the buttoned back of the chair. He didn't feel like talking about it.

"Tell me." Ki Soon's tone was light, but it had an urgent edge to it.

"No. Go away, hyung."

That did it. There was a snap and suddenly the blaring music stopped. A few people protested, but they were instantly shut up. Woo Bin could hear approaching foot steps and smirked. Part 1 of "Get Back At Jun Pyo and Make Him Cough Up the Prize" was a go.

He turned around, to face a small group of other gang members, all managing to look threatening yet concerned for the heir to their mafia underground. Of course, they all knew the rule that Woo Bin's appa had made…

"If my son leaves the Basement crying, upset, or any other shit like that, there'll be hell to pay and I will personally kick the ass of the mo-fo who pissed my son off."

So of course, the mafia backed Woo Bin up on whatever the little boy wanted to do.

Woo Bin did his best to sound hurt yet angry. "Well… there's this boy, Gu Jun Pyo in my class, and I made a bet with him, Yoon Ji Hoo, and So Yi Jung about something, and I won. But the bastard won't pay up, and Ji Hoo and Yi Jung won't until he does."

A round of muttered swears and dissent swept through the crowd, until another man, Jin Ho, stepped up. He was one of the most well respected kkangpae due to his seasoned fighting skills, and right hand man of the Boss. Cracking his knuckles, he said, "Well then, what do you want us to do about it?"

Smirking slightly, Woo Bin whispered, "Here's the plan…"

And the kkangpae leaned in to listen closely as a five year old boy launched into the plan of attack.

* * *

It took a while to dig up the other F3's phone numbers, and longer to figure out how to do a conference call. "Yoboseyo?" Funnily enough, all F3 boys picked up right at the same time.

Yi Jung was the first to speak. "Yah… is Jun Pyo hyung and Ji Hoo hyung there?"

"Yi Jung, shut up." And there was Jun Pyo.

"Woo Bin…" Ji Hoo actually sounded irritated even as he sighed. "What do you want? My hanyo woke me up from my nap for this."

"Well…" Woo Bin trailed off as he twisted the extension cord around his pinky finger. "I wanna play hide and go seek."

There was a rather long pause, until Jun Pyo said in disbelief, "Are you serious?"

"Yeah, it's only 4 o' clock."

"I wanna play, I wanna play, I wanna—"

"Yi Jung, please be quiet." Ji Hoo sighed again. "I know you must have an ulterior motive, Woo Bin. You don't like hide and go seek, you're bad at finding us."

Darn. He should've known that Ji Hoo would've figured him out. "Okay, fine…you know that bet we had today?"

"You're still hung up on that?" Jun Pyo drawled. "I'm not paying up, that was a stupid idea."

"Well… if I can find you guys in thirty minutes, then I'll make you."

Jun Pyo snorted. "And if you don't?"

"Then I'll let it go."

Jun Pyo considered this for a moment. "…okay, fine. Anything to get you to stop harassing me about it. Where do you want us to hide? And you better not cheat this time, rascal."

Woo Bin crossed his fingers as he said, "I promise. And anywhere in Seoul."

There was a brief pause, until Yi Jung shouted, "ANYWHERE?!"

"Anywhere. You guys have thirty minutes to get hiding. I'll start looking for you guys at…" Woo Bin glanced at the clock. "4:30."

"Can't I just sleep—?"

"You're on, dummy!"

"I know where I'm going to hide, hyung—" Woo Bin hung up with a small click. Turning to the mob around him, he said, "Group S, you'll be tailing Yi Jung with Ki Soon-sshi as your leader. Group Y, your target is Ji Hoo and Seung Hun-sshi will lead you. And Group G, you'll track down Jun Pyo with Jin Ho. Araso?" The crowd quickly dispersed as the groups left the room. Woo Bin smirked as he pressed a button on the remote, and a large flat screen TV slowly dropped down from the ceiling a few meters away from his chair. It blinked, as suddenly several panels showed up. Live feed from security cameras, strategically located around Seoul, popped up in front of him, as he followed the progress of the teams—and of Yi Jung, Ji Hoo, and Jun Pyo.

Pulling out a bag of rice cakes, Woo Bin settled in to watch the fun unfold.

* * *

"B-but… your Omonim told me to keep an eye on you at all times!" the driver stuttered, as Yi Jung pushed against his legs in vain, trying to get him to go away.

"Omma doesn't have to know!" he hissed, now grabbing the ends of the driver's jacket and trying to tug him away instead. "If I don't hide soon, Woo Bin will find me! And then…" he stopped and put on his best pout. "I'll tell omma that you were being mean to me!"

That got the driver out of there in a hurry. Yi Jung watched him to make sure he drove away, before running into a sidestreet.

Haengbok Alley was a place that he had always wanted to go to—it had numerous toy stores, along with other hobby stores—but it was on the side of Seoul that his parents never went to. If he knew getting his driver to bring him here was so easy, he would've done it ages ago!

Yi Jung weaved in, out and around the legs of the moving masses, occasionally stepping out to look at a store and ducking back in. The alley wound around the back streets of Namdaemun Market, and he didn't know how far it went. What eventually drew him out of the crowd however, was a quaint little store, painted in light pastel colours with a small kiln out front and a large ceramic cat.

His mouth was a perfect 'o' as he looked at the small display window, lined with families of ducks, dogs and fish. Without a second thought, he wandered into the shop, forgetting all about hide and go seek to ask the shopkeeper if he could join the small sculpting lesson that was taking place.

* * *

Ji Hoo yawned as he plodded up the sidewalk, people brushing by him without so much as a second glance. Although it was odd to see a child in an all white tailored suit with a matching blanket wandering aimlessly down the street, no one seemed to pay him any attention.

His driver had dropped him off at some street—Ji Hoo didn't care to learn the name—and driven off. Now he was left to stroll up and down, alone, looking for a place to hide—or, rather, a place to nap that could double as a place to hide.

Seoul was an urban city, definitely, and he didn't want to hide in some park where he would get grass stains. Or get cold.

He stifled another yawn as his eyes roamed up the number of stores lining the pavement, before alighting on one.

Luxury Sleep – Mattresses and Pillows.

Ji Hoo drifted into the store unnoticed, glancing at the fluffy white sheets and pillows as he made his way towards the back. There were several mattresses stacked on top of each other behind a wall, still wrapped up in plastic, but there was a display bed hidden behind them. Yawning once more, Ji Hoo climbed into the bed, curling up underneath the covers with his blankie and hoping that the employees wouldn't notice his spiky dark hair sticking out beneath the covers.

_

* * *

_

There's got to be a good place to hide somewhere…

Jun Pyo scowled as he paced up and down on the corner of the street. His driver was somewhere nearby, he knew it—even if Omonim let him go out on this little outing, she never let him go by himself….

Oh well, he thought, if all else failed, he could simply hide in the Cadillac, order his driver to go around Seoul and (hopefully) not get stuck in traffic, but…

Jun Pyo hugged his coat tighter around him as a sudden gust of wind whipped against him, causing him to swear loudly. His entirely-inappropriate-for-a-five-year-old insult was cut short, however, as he caught scent of the mouthwatering aroma of…of…

Well, he didn't know what it was. But it smelt good.

Grinning, he ran across the street at a dead run—luckily Omonim ordered a police escort; they blocked off the cars as he ran—until he reached the other side. The smell here was stronger, and he followed his nose until he reached a small store. In large neon signs it read: Bonjuk Congee Restaurant.

He didn't know what the hell congee was; it must be some commoner's crap if he didn't associate it with foie gras, fillet mignon and French food in general, but whatever it was, if it smelt like that, he wanted to eat it. Now.

Mustering up strength, Jun Pyo puffed out his chest and strutted inside.

* * *

"Yo, do you want us to go get them now? It's ten til 4:30." Ki Soon's voice crackled over the loud speaker. From the video screen, Woo Bin could see that he was standing outside a rather crowded alleyway, with several other men standing by him, awaiting orders.

"That's Haengbok Alley?"

"Yeah."

"Okay, I'm not really sure which store he's in, 'cause there are too many people around. You guys actually have to look for him, you know what he looks like, right?"

"Yes."

"Then go get him." There was a click as Ki Soon hung up, and Woo Bin watched as he and the group jostled their way through the moving crowd until they disappeared. Pressing a button on the intercom again, he waited for Group J to pick up.

Seung Hun picked up on the first ring. "We lost him, mianhe."

Woo Bin frowned. Seung Hun was obviously not cut out to be a hit man. "He's inside Luxury Sleep, that foreign mattress store. You can go pick him up now, araso?" He reached to dial Jin Ho, but Jin Ho was already calling him.

"Woo Bin? I think Jun Pyo knows we're here." His voice sounded rough, but unsure.

Now that was a surprise. Woo Bin sighed. "Jin Ho-sshi, have you ever played Hide and Seek before?"

"Well, I've gone after more paranoid people, as well as targets that are pros at knowing when they are being stalked, but with all due respect, I've never gone after – well, a _child_ before—"

Woo Bin glanced at the screen. Jin Ho was standing at a corner, while his group was milling around, trying to look inconspicuous. It obviously wasn't working. On another panel, he could see Jun Pyo through a shop window, eating some… some….

"What is that?" he blurted out, aghast at the gruel that Jun Pyo was shoveling heartily into his mouth.

"It's… it's porridge, sir," Jin Ho replied, confused at the sudden change in topic. "Haven't you ever tried it before?"

But Woo Bin wasn't paying attention; his eyes were fixed on Jun Pyo, who had stopped and was leaning forward over the counter, looking at the car that was stopped in front of the restaurant, caught in Seoul afternoon traffic.

What's he looking at…? Woo Bin thought. But then Jun Pyo suddenly glanced to the right, in the direction of Jin Ho and his men—

In a second Jun Pyo jumped off his stool, bolting for the door.

Woo Bin heard Jin Ho yell, "Shit, he's making a run for it!" before the line fizzled off.

* * *

Jun Pyo cursed under his breath as he ran through traffic, cars honking at him as he ran between them. Out of the corner of his eye Jun Pyo could see the stupid guys that Woo Bin had obviously sent after him give chase; some were hesitating to jump into the thick of rush hour traffic while others were already cutting through and weaving in between cars. A quick glance to the right told him that it was still a red light, but the other intersection was already yellow and he wasn't even close to the center divide.

_There!_ Never before was he happy to see the sleek black roof of his Cadillac, but it was all the way on the other side of the opposite lane. Jun Pyo began pumping his legs faster…

A cacophony of yells, honks, and swear words echoed all around him as the light suddenly turned green and the mass of cars began to shift forward. Adrenaline rushing through his veins, he dodged one van, ducked underneath a huge semi truck, and jumped onto the hood of a Hyundai, thankful that the truck and the now-moving traffic would prove to be an obstacle to the mob chasing after him.

"HEY! GET THE HELL OFF MY CAR!" A trumpet-like blast made him jump, and he scrambled to get off of the car and onto the center divide. Although the cars were moving, they were restricted to a crawl due to the heavy traffic. Looking behind him, he could see three, four, five men scrambling to leap over the cars, honks from angry drivers following their progress.

_Only five lanes left to go…_ Jun Pyo ran forward into the suddenly clear lane—only to see a van barreling towards him at least 55 kilometers. He froze up, eyes wide as saucers as he stared into the blinding headlights, waiting to be smashed against the pavement—

"Yah, what the hell do you think you're doing, kid?!" A pair of hands grabbed him roughly and tossed him back onto the unkempt weeds and grass of the center divide. Jun Pyo looked up to see a tall man—ripped jeans, tight shirt, fingerless gloves—glowering down at him. A kkangpae. Of course one of them caught him.

"You wanna get killed? Woo Bin would kill _me_!" he yelled at Jun Pyo, but that earned him a swift kick to the crotch as Jun Pyo stumbled up and ran for it.

Jin Ho swore under his breath, doubled over in pain. "Damn kid… how the hell Woo Bin keeps up with him..."

Jun Pyo laughed as he turned around to stick his tongue out at the pabo who dared to kidnap him… only to run straight into the stomach of another kkangpae, who instantly spun him around and tied up his hands.

"Damn Woo Bin," Jun Pyo muttered under his breath as the kkangpae picked him up and tossed him over his shoulder, laughing as he ran back to his comrades.

* * *

"Now, first of all, you need to knead the clay," Park Min Su said, walking around the short table and garnering the attention of twenty-some children as she held up a mound of clay and began pulling and stretching it. "This is called conditioning."

It took only a few seconds for the children to burst out talking and laughing, smashing their clay onto the table, ripping it apart, rolling it, and basically attacking it. Min Su sighed; teaching children's pottery class was like trying to teach table etiquette to a dog—wild, unpredictable, and more likely to hound you than to care what the word 'conditioning' meant.

As she circled the table, occasionally stopping to tell a child that clay did not smell yummy, therefore it did not taste yummy, she stopped behind one little boy. He definitely stuck out from the crowd—not just because of his clothes, which was an expensive-looking three piece suit, but because he wasn't trying to make a snake or a grape like the rest of the children were.

Instead, he was making a dog, an elaborate one at that. Its paws were spread out in front with its rump high in the air, a goofy expression on its face with its tongue hanging out. Small indents were in the place of eyes, and it was then that Min Su noticed that its tail was missing.

Tapping the boy on his shoulder—she hoped that he wouldn't notice the infinitesimal smudge on his suit—she asked, "What are you making now?"

The boy looked up, and Min Su recognized him as the boy who had come in five minutes after she began the introduction to the lesson. But now as she looked at him, she recognized him as…

"You're So Hyun Sub's son," she gasped, surprised. "There was a picture of you in World of Art!"

His cheeks instantly turned red. "You know my appa?"

"Well, I saw him in a magazine, and at Woo Song Museum—"

"Then are you one of his lady friends?" the boy pressed on, still rolling a piece of clay on his board on the table. "My appa has a lot of lady friends. They teach clay like you, or he teaches clay to them. My omma doesn't like them. She cries when Appa goes to visit them."

Min Su was speechless as she watched him begin to shape the roll of clay. She had heard the rumors about So Hyun Sub's many affairs—they were common news, after all—but even his own _son_ knew?

The boy held up the piece of clay, which she now realized as the missing tail, and began to fix it onto the dog's rump, bending it in an S shape. Min Su suddenly wanted to change the topic. "So what are you making?"

"My dog, Joso." He smiled sadly as he smoothed out the fingerprints that were on the dog's head. "My appa told me he got hit by a car yesterday, so I'm making a teapot of him."

As he grabbed some more clay from the communal clay heap in the middle of the table, she studied the dog more carefully. Now that she looked, the tail was actually a handle, and there was a hole in the back; she couldn't imagine how this five year old boy managed to sculpt a hollow figurine in the 10 or so minutes that he had sat there.

Just as the boy finished making a small lid for the teapot, and a small teacup that was well disguised as a dog dish, Min Su turned to see at least four or five men walk into the shop, all looking around. The one in front turned around and said, low enough that Min Su could barely hear him, "Search the shop. He might be hiding in pots, or in the back."

"What are you doing here?" she asked, walking over to them and hoping the children didn't see them. They were lean, muscular kind of men—kkangpae, she realized.

They had already spread out, slinking around the sides of the shop and checking cabinets and under tables. But the one who seemed to be the leader remained at the doorway, and he replied, "We're searching for So Yi Jung, he's… rubbed our boss's son the wrong way, so we're here to pick him up. If you can hand him over now, I swear we won't get violent." The man smirked. "I'm sure you don't want those other kids to get hurt."

"Ki Soon, we found him!" Both of them turned to see another thuggish-looking man standing by the table. "He's the one in the suit, see?"

"Then what are you waiting for?" the leader yelled. "Grab him and go!"

In a second, the man had thrown a screaming Yi Jung over his shoulder, and was making his way towards the door, ignoring the frightened shrieks coming from the rest of the class. Min Su tried to bar his way, but was only pushed aside by another man. She tried to grab Yi Jung's hands which reached out to her in vain as another man shoved her roughly out of the way. By the time she had stumbled back onto her feet, the mobsters had already disappeared into the throng of people outside the shop.

She sighed as she turned back to the table, the children dead silent. Min Su knew that the cheerful chatter would return in a minute or two, as she walked back to the little boy's now-empty spot on the bench. His dog, Joso, still sat on the table, now looking forlorn. She carefully moved it onto a cutting board and carried it to the kiln out in the back of the shop.

Min Su would keep the little dog on the display shelf, glowing with pride in later years that she had an original sculpture by the famous So Yi Jung.

* * *

In his dream, Ji Hoo was flying.

Underneath him, there was a dark blue ocean, and in the ocean, there was a huge shadow.

In a spray of water, the shadow leaped out of the sea, and it was a lion-shark-thing with Jun Pyo's face. He was yelling something at him, but Ji Hoo couldn't hear what he was saying.

How weird, Ji Hoo thought. He flew lower; if Jun Pyo had to interrupt his dream, whatever he had to say must be important.

"Get – out – right – now!" the Jun Pyo lionshark said in between jumps, the ocean spray soaking Ji Hoo's pajamas. "They're here – they're – coming! They already – got me!"

And then a whale's mouth appeared, blocking out the sun, and swallowed Jun Pyo. Ji Hoo dodged to the right, but then all of a sudden, a cloud descended upon him, and wrapped him up in silken fluffiness.

How weird, Ji Hoo thought, as everything faded to a velvety black.

*

"Woo Bin?"

"Yeah, Seung Hun-sshi?"

"We got him."

"You found him pretty fast for losing him."

"Well, he was – er, is asleep. He was sleeping in one of the display beds in the back and we wrapped him up in the blanket he was on and paid for it."

"…the shopkeeper didn't notice anything?"

"He did, but… ah, Jin Young took care of it."

"Okay." Click.

Woo Bin looked from the intercom, to the clock. 4:27. They should be here soon. And the lawyers and Appa were already in the meeting room, so everything was going a-ok.

Well, he'd better get ready for the hell Jun Pyo was going to raise when all three of them got here.

* * *

"President Song," Lawyer #1 spat, slamming his fists on the table. "That is inconceivable! 33% rent escalation? Madame Kang won't stand for this!" Lawyer #2 and #3 stood in the back, nodding. It seemed like Lawyer #1 was setting off the fireworks in this show, Mr. Song thought.

Before Lawyer #1 could continue his tirade, Vice President Lee Jung Sik cut in. "What President Song is saying is that 33% will be the maximum escalation rate. Your monthly rent will remain the same at 7%, but Ilsim Constructions, who now owns the land that your facilities stand on, holds the right to increase rent as it sees fit. Or," he added, as Lawyer #2 opened his mouth to object, "we may have to rely on our more… iniquitous succors, to secure your compliance. I believe you know how these things work, gentlemen."

Mr. Song could barely stifle a chuckle at his partner-in-crime's allusion to the mafia. All three lawyers knew that they were standing in a sea of glass—anywhere they moved would only damage their reputation, the companies they represented, or their lives, if need be.

The only way out was to make a deal with the devil, and Mr. Song was more than happy to oblige.

* * *

The heavy double doors to the Basement opened with a bang as a furious Jun Pyo was shoved in, along with a crying Yi Jung and… it took a while for Woo Bin to remember that Ji Hoo was the bundle of white sheets that was deposited in a nearby chair.

Jun Pyo was up in his face in a flash, swearing so loudly and profoundly that Woo Bin was sure that the mobsters would have been proud of him. For a split second, Woo Bin felt intimidated, more like downright scared, as Jun Pyo towered over him, and he was sure that the F4 leader was about to aim a blow at his head, until Yi Jung suddenly yelled: "I'M NOT PLAYING ANYMORE! NOT WITH THOSE MEANIES! YOU WIN, HYUNG!"

And an affirming mumble from Ji Hoo saved Woo Bin from the wrath of Jun Pyo, with the favor of the time-tested 'two against one, we won' tie breaker.


End file.
